Israeli reserve soldiers greet each other after a few weeks apart near the Israel-Gaza border, Monday, July 28, 2014. A truce between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza remained elusive as diplomats sought to end the fighting at the start of the Eid al-Fitr holiday, marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Israel Calls Up Another 16,000 Reserves for Gaza Fighting

JERUSALEM — Israel's military said Thursday it was calling up another 16,000 reserves, a move that allows it to substantially widen its 23-day campaign against Islamic militants in the Gaza Strip. The new call-up orders follow another day of intensive fighting, in which 116 Palestinians and three Israeli soldiers were killed. It also coincides with stalled diplomatic efforts to end the war, which has already claimed more than 1,360 Palestinian lives — most of them civilians -- and reduced entire Gaza neighborhoods to rubble.

Fifty-six Israeli soldiers and three civilians on the Israeli side have died in the campaign, as Palestinians have fired hundreds of rockets at Israel -- some reaching major cities -- and carried out attacks inside Israel through tunnels beneath the heavily guarded frontier. Israel has now called up a total of 86,000 reserves during the Gaza conflict, which it launched on July 8 to try to end rocket fire from Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza. An initial aerial campaign was widened into a ground offensive on July 17.